Here’s the thing about reviewing a book: If you don’t immediately write it, you’d soon forget about the details in the content, and therefore the review becomes so vague. That’s why right after I finish a book, I always try to put my thought about it as soon as possible

I’ve been wanting to buy "First Phone Call from Heaven" by Mitch Albom from a very long time ago. I like Mitch Albom, especially his best-seller book "Tuesday with Morrie", it remains one of my favorites. However, I feel like it’s becoming harder for me to relate to his books, only because most of his books are very religious. Five People You Meet in Heaven, First Phone Call from Heaven, and even Have a Little Faith in Me, I struggled A LOT to finish them because I’m no longer so sure about the existence of heaven, and very skeptical towards religion. Hence, the struggle to relate to the story.

Okay, so back to the book. It’s the story of mysterious phone calls in a small city called Coldwater, which are claimed to come from heaven itself. People are getting calls from their beloved ones who have passed away. I actually like the idea of it. At first I was so curious on where this story might go. Unfortunately, the pace of the story is too slow for me, it becomes boring and not appealing to read. There are so many characters, sometimes with similar names, and it’s kinda hard to memorize all of them. And because of that, we cannot go deep enough to understand certain characters. It’s all just come and go, there were just few glimpses to their lives. But it’s not enough to make us actually feel something for the characters.

Of course, as this is Mitch Albom’s books, there many quote-able sentences here and there. But again, they do not really touch us. They’re good to be tweeted and all, but not something that we would remember for years.

I’m not really clear on what Mitch Albom tries to say in this book. Is it about losing someone? Is it about investigating a case? Is it about not prioritizing something that doesn’t really matter? I’m kinda lost because the story is everywhere. It’s like bits and pieces that do not stick together. The only thing that saves this book is Mitch Albom’s delicate wordings. However, it is still not enough. I was waiting for something extraordinary to happen in the story but it fell flat. Kinda disappointing, especially in the end.

If I have to give a rating, it would be only a star. It’s so ordinary although the idea is good. But reading it feels like a work and I hate the book that makes me feel like it.

If you’ve read it too, drop a comment so I’d know what you think of it.

In the meantime, see you at other book review!

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